Frequently Asked Questions

General Topics

What is a Certifying Body [CB]

A Certifying Body is any of the individual organizations which issue Recognition or Listing of products. This refers to Recognition of materials of subcomponents and Listing of finished goods [end-products].

Can you give an example of a CB?

There are a few hundred CB; this is obviously a very small sampling.

CSA – Canada

BSI – England

Intertek/ETL – USA and various other countries

UL – USA

VDE – Germany

CQC – China

TUV – Germany, USA and various other countries

In simple words, any of the companies which issue certification of compliance to industry standards may be a CB.

What is a NRTL?

NRTL is the abbreviation for Nationally Registered Testing Laboratory. This abbreviation is used in the USA to identify companies which can provide the certification of a CB. Only OSHA can issue the status of a NRTL to any company in the USA. A NRTL is a company which evaluates finished goods [end-products] for compliance to industry standards.

Is ELTEK Labs a NRTL?

No, ELTEK Labs does not issue certification on finished goods; hence ELTEK Labs cannot qualify to become a NRTL.

If ELTEK Labs is not a NRTL how can CB accept the test results?

With the International Accreditation to ISO 17025, ELTEK Labs has the unique position of being able to perform testing with assurance that any CB will accept the test results. Our certification to ISO 17025 is issued by the International Accreditation Service [IAS]. Check www.iasonline.org, and then file TL457.

What type of testing laboratory is ELTEK Labs?

ELTEK Labs is in independent testing laboratory dedicated to the electrical industry. The “EL” stands for Electrical; the “TEK” stands for Technical. Our main focus is on Electrical Insulating Materials [EIM] and Electrical Insulation Systems [EIS].

Can ELTEK Labs conduct testing for anything other than EIM and EIS?

Yes! ELTEK Labs conducts a wide range of testing. Many of the individual tests relate to fields other than electrical insulation. Please explore our website for more details.

UL-related

If my company accepts a quotation for testing at ELTEK Labs does my company still need to open a project with UL?

Yes, our common customers still need to open a project at UL for testing performed at ELTEK Labs to be placed into the customer’s UL file. Recall that ELTEK Labs is not part of UL. Our test reports can be accepted by any CB. The submittal of an ELTEK Labs test reports to any CB is the responsibility of our common customer. “Common customer” refers to any customer selecting ELTEK Labs and any CB.

If my company accepts a quotation for testing at ELTEK Labs does my company also need to pay UL for the UL services?

Yes, our common customer needs to pay UL, or any other CB, for any test data regardless of the source to be placed into the customer’s file(s).

How can we find the specific tests performed at ELTEK Labs which are accepted by UL without any confirmation testing being expected to be required?

Does UL accept test results produced by ELTEK Labs?

ELTEK Labs interacts with UL under UL’s Certificated Agency Program (CAP) Third Party Testing Laboratory [TPTL] status. The list of tests performed at ELTEK Labs that are accepted by UL are identified in our certification certificate. A copy is on our website.

Is ELTEK Labs part of UL?

ELTEK Labs is not part of UL and UL is not part of ELTEK Labs. While our two companies have an excellent working relationship there is no business connection between the companies.